The NHL announced the three finalists for this season’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday. Voting for the award was conducted among GMs and a panel of league executives and media at the conclusion of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Minnesota Wild‘s Bill Guerin, Colorado Avalanche‘s Chris MacFarland, and Anaheim Ducks‘ Pat Verbeek are this season’s finalists.
Guerin made the biggest trade of the season when he acquired star defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, helping the Wild to a 46-24-12 record and a first-round playoff series win over the Dallas Stars. Other additions to the Wild included summer acquisitions Vladimir Tarasenko and Nico Sturm, and trade deadline moves for Bobby Brink, Nick Foligno, and Jeff Petry. Guerin is a finalist for the first time and the first GM representing the Wild since the award was established in 2009-10.
MacFarland helped push the Avalanche to a league-best 55-16-11 record, winning the franchise’s fourth Presidents’ Trophy. Their 121 points were the most in franchise history and they swept the Los Angeles Kings out of the first round of the playoffs. MacFarland’s biggest moves were re-signing forward Brock Nelson, signing defenseman Brent Burns, and trading for Nazem Kadri, Brett Kulak, Nicolas Roy, and Nick Blankenberg. He is a finalist for the first time.
Verbeek put together a Ducks team that qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 with a 43-33-6 record. They won their first-round playoff series against the back-to-back defending Western Conference champions, the Edmonton Oilers. In addition to the team’s young core, Verbeek traded for forward Chris Kreider, forward Mikael Granlund, forward Jeffrey Viel, and defenseman John Carlson. He is a finalist for the first time.
